Fredrik Backman - Us Against You

“Fredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men, with a love and understanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with their fists. It’s hard not to love it.”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

This is a sequel to Bear Town. The story picks up exactly where Bear Town left off. It looks like Bear Town will no longer have a hockey team and General Manager Peter Anderson is about to give up on the team when a new secret investor suddenly appears on the scene.

All Peter has to do is get rid of the Pack, the black jacketed gentleman who have always run this town and this team. And the first half of the book dwells on that situation, besides bringing us up to date with all of the characters from the first book, which in my opinion slows the story down.

There are a few new characters, notably a female coach who will take over coaching duties for Bear Town. She’s quite different from the usual hockey coach, and with most of the players from Bear Town now playing for rival town Hed, tensions are running high. Not to forget the rape by the best player on Bear Town of the General Managers daughter Maya. And the new goalie is going to be the younger brother of the Pack, who has just gotten out of jail.

The second half is much better because now we are mainly dealing with the kids from the first book. Hockey will be back but there is a darkness to this story that never goes away. My biggest gripe with this book is the author’s need to keep reminding us that very bad things are going to happen here, and of course they do. I would rather have found out when the event occurs, not sit and wait for it, wondering who it will involve.

Despite that, Bachman is just so good he pulls it all off anyway. If you liked Bear Town, you should have no problem loving this. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will immerse yourself in Bear Town once again. You will not be able to help yourself.

If you haven’t read Bear Town, I would strongly suggest reading it first to better experience this story. Bachman has done it again. A terrific book.